Double Event
by AthosAtTanagra
Summary: They were close to losing the Kaiju war. He thought it was a bit of Hero worship. She knew she had more important things to worry about. Herc H, OC
1. Chapter 1

"This should only take a few minutes," the tech said, giving him a quick smile. She was young, Herc Hansen thought as he watched the girl scan and prod his Jaeger pilot suit. When did they start making Drift Technicians so young?

Herc and Chuck had checked in Striker an hour earlier at Hong Kong's Shatterdome. He was beyond frustrated for having been ordered to abandon Sydney. The last Kaiju attack had proven just how ineffective the wall project was. Why couldn't the world leaders see that they'd signed up for a suicide mission by decommissioning the Jaegers?

Unaware, he let out a frustrated sigh. The girl's head came up, her eyes wide, searching his.

"Just bear with me," she said. "I'll have you out of here as quick as I can."

"It's not you," Herc said quickly. "You can take your time."

She tilted her head and her eyes searched his face.

"It's the decommissioning, isn't it?" she asked and he nodded, his jaw locking. The girl nodded back, her eyes wide and lips pursed. "Bloody ridiculous, that! Thank God, Marshal Pentecost is not going to take it lying down. Have you talked to him yet?"

Herc shook his head and raising both eyebrows, hoping she would elaborate.

She gave him a quick smile again. "Well, you'll get to it soon enough."

Herc watched her profile as she worked. Her skin looked soft and her movements graceful. When she smiled, her whole face lit up. Perhaps she was not as young as he'd thought; not as young as Chuck. Her dark hair was tied up and she was wearing civilian clothes: boots, dark jeans and a yellow t-shirt under a grey button up cardigan.

He looked away. It had been ten years since his wife died. Since, he'd been too busy raising his son and killing Kaiju to pay attention to women. Sure, now and then, and only in cases where no strings were attached.

And as his thoughts turned to his son, Herc felt a different kind of twinge in his chest, a familiar one that spoke of a different worry and frustration. Chuck was young and fired up with his youth and his ego. Because of the drift connection, Herc knew much more of his son than he would have otherwise. The connection had kept them close, but Chuck was straining under it. Straining to get out from under his father's shadow. Herc understood that. That knowledge enabled him to be patient with the young man. Given time and experience, Chuck would be alright. He would be alright.

"Turn your head towards me," the tech said. She was standing in front of him, her hands on each side of his helmet. Her eyes were deep amber, framed by pale lashes. He did as she asked and she removed his helmet carefully. He felt her warm breath on his face. She smelled faintly of laundry soap.

"You've seen a lot of action," she said.

"Yeah, I'm a bit old," he said jokingly, but a bit self-conscious.

Her eyes went wide. "That's not what I meant. At all. You're not old."

"What would you call it?"

"I'd say you're in your prime," she shot back.

He raised an eyebrow.

"In any case, I was not referring to your age. I meant that the last five years have been really busy for you," she continued, determined to put his assumption to rest. "Ten Kaiju taken out is quite the count! And Striker Eureka is," she paused searching for words, "a beauty!"

"Yep, that she is," he admitted. Striker was linked in his mind to the drift link with his son. It was a very special machine. It was family.

"I'm Andy Tahoe," she said sticking out her hand.

"Herc Hansen." Her hand felt small and cool in his.

"Yeah, I know," she said and smiled wide. He'd seen hero worship before.

There were footsteps behind him and Chuck appeared at his elbow.

"Still here, dad?" he asked impatiently. "There's an assistant waiting to show us to our quarters." His eyes took in the tech and his expression changed significantly.

"Well, and who are you?" he asked, his tone smooth. The girl looked up and raised an eyebrow. As if realizing his bad manners, Chuck gave her a broad grin and introduced himself, sticking out his hand for her to shake.

He could be charming, his son, when he tried to, Herc thought. And he didn't seem to have any scruples against using his almost rock-star status as a Ranger.

"Ops Tahoe," she replied, shaking Chuck's hand.

"Your first name is Ops?" Chuck asked.

"It is to you," she replied with an amused smile. Herc felt a petty satisfaction that she was holding her own. Perhaps the hero worship was selective.

Chuck didn't notice. He strutted a little and took it as a challenge until she good-naturedly shooed him out of the room.

Herc considered apologizing for his son, but she seemed focused on finishing up. He was tired of apologizing for Chuck. And also just plain tired.

"All done," she said shortly. "I'll help you out of the rest of the suit."

With each piece, Herc felt more self-aware. He felt her hands touching him as she removed the Jaeger driver suit. He knew his body was in good shape for his forty five years. He gritted his teeth. He was too old to be self-conscious.

"There!" she said when the last piece was off. "That's as far as I go."

He thought he imagined the teasing tone, but when he looked up, there was a twinkle in her eye. The image of her undressing him flashed through his mind. He shook his head to chase it away.

"That's probably for the best," he said quietly.

"Hmm" she intoned neutrally, but her eyes teased him.

At the door he hesitated. Andy Tahoe had already turned her back to him and was starting another diagnostic. Two other techs came in and started putting the rest of his gear away. He was still standing there unsure of what he was waiting for, when she turned towards him, surprised to find him still there.

"Welcome to the HK Shatterdome, Herc Hansen," she said and then she smiled again, that big smile that made her amber eyes warm up. "I hope I see you around!"

"Yeah, me too," he answered and walked out feeling stupid.


	2. Chapter 2

The other teams had arrived with their Jaegers, and Herc attempted at first to get to know them. Soon he realized that no one was interested. Tight knit pockets of intimacy, Jaeger pilots didn't mix well.

Marshal Pentecost filled him in on the plan: to carry a nuclear payload into the rift. It had been tried before, but Pentecost said this was different. They knew a bit more; a potential "magic hour" when the rift would be wide open. And this would be right before, according to Pentecost's scientists, multiple Kaiju popped out at an accelerated rate and ripped the world to shreds beyond anyone's ability to resist or stop them.

It was overreaching and probably suicidal, Herc knew, but anything else was slow and sure death. The two scientists, Geiszler and Gottlieb, seemed to him erratic and unstable. They contradicted each other constantly and just did not seem to work well together. He wouldn't have trusted them himself, but he trusted Pentecost.

Raleigh Becket's arrival stirred something of a storm with Chuck. Herc remembered Raleigh as a boisterous young man – much like Chuck was now – full of energy and assurance in his ability to control his own destiny. The Raleigh he met again today was a humbler and wiser man. Herc thought it too bad that it took the trauma of losing his brother to bring about this change. He wished Chuck would one day grow wiser, but not like that. He'd never wish Chuck that.

He could remember his own youth. He'd brawled and threw punches, and acted like a fool. Somewhere along he'd learned a thing or two about perspective and about himself. But they were not lessons that could be learned by telling. He couldn't seem to teach his son humility. Chuck would have to make mistakes.

Herc thought he would grow impatient with the inactivity. He was surprised and a little worried that he welcomed these few days of rest. One evening he stared at himself in the narrow mirror above the metal sink in the room he shared with his son. He took in the three days' growth of scruffy beard, his angular face and wondered how much longer he'd be able to keep this up. He was not young anymore. He didn't crave the adrenaline rush of the fight. True that once he was in the Jaeger nothing else existed except the battle. But he wondered what his life would be away from the Drift, away from the Jaeger and away from being in his son head.

What had Ops Andy Tahoe seen when she looked at him? A man in his prime, she'd said. He knew what he'd seen when he'd looked at her. Herc sighed. He was letting himself get distracted.

He _had_ seen her around after that first meeting. She was part of Geiszler's team and had been officially introduced to him again as his neural Drift expert. He'd shaken her hand again, just for the excuse to feel her skin. She'd smiled at him conspiratorially.

"We've already met," Herc had explained to Pentecost, who'd been with him at the time.

"Daydreaming, old man?" Chuck's voice interrupted his thoughts. Herc shook himself.

"Just thinking," he replied noncommittally.

"You know that pretty Drift Ops that scanned you in and wouldn't tell me her first name?" Chuck continued, half distracted. Herc made a neutral noise, neither acknowledging nor denying.

"Well, I said I would find out her first name, didn't I? And I did. Her name is Andy, Andy Tahoe, that's what they call her." He chuckled, self absorbed.

Herc pulled a t-shirt over his head and put his boots on. He fought down his irritation.

"I'm going out for a bit."

"Where?"

"Just out."

As soon as he closed the door behind him, Herc felt the pressure ease a little. He tried not to let feelings take hold of him. There was only truth in the neural link of the Drift. Chuck would know his feelings soon enough. So he avoided dwelling on them. He walked aimlessly around the station trying to clear his head. He didn't realize when he'd headed for Striker.

Andy Tahoe and a couple of others were working late on the computer deck. He wondered if his walking that way had been a coincidence. She looked happy to see him. He wondered again how much of it was hero worship and how much was just himself.

"We've been uploading an upgrade to the neural handshake connection," she told him excitedly. She darted into a full explanation, and then partly through she stopped speaking and looked at him.

"I'm sorry, I'm babbling," she said, suddenly self aware.

"No, not at all. Talk on. I'm interested."

She blinked and he suddenly realized the ambiguity of what he'd said. Was he interested in her or the subject matter? He saw the confusion play across her face for only a second, before she seemed to dismiss the first alternative. Not the self absorbed kind, he noticed.

"So, Herc as in, Hercules?" she asked, her face breaking up in a guilty smile.

"Yep," he nodded, amused, "as in that. Which you obviously knew already," he pointed out as she started laughing.

"I'm not laughing at you," she said, trying to keep a straight face. "I'm Andy for Andromeda. But please don't tell anyone. I've tried to keep it under the radar."

Herc let out a bark of laughter.

"Your secret is safe with me." He turned to the controls. "Now tell me the rest of it," he prompted. "About the new connection," he clarified when her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. He really had to pay more attention to what came out of his mouth around her. And what other secrets did she have?

She shook herself and smiled. "Yes. I will." And she did. Herc watched her animated face with pleasure. Andromeda Tahoe obviously loved her work. He was not an expert himself in all the fine details of what made the drift work, but when it came to the Jaegers, the interest was intrinsic. Striker was like a living thing under his hands.

When she finished and answered several questions, she sighed and was quiet.

"Thanks for listening. At least you made it look like I wasn't boring you."

"You didn't. I'm not sure it's possible."

She raised an eyebrow.

"It's strange talking to you, you know," she admitted. "I've seen you on TV so often... You know what I mean. I thought it would be more intimidating."

"I'm not intimidating enough in person?" he asked, amused.

"The commentators, they always say things like _'Herc Hansen is a man made of steel. He is a fearless daredevil in the Jaeger and out!' _That's the sort of stuff they say about people who put your teeth on edge," she said and Herc burst into laughter. "But in person you're ... comfortable."

"Was that a compliment? I wasn't sure."

"You couldn't tell?" she laughed again. "It was, but you're not getting another. Not tonight anyway."

They were silent for a while. Herc noticed the sounds of the other techs working in the room. He'd forgotten they weren't alone.

"So, what brought you out this way, this time of the night, before I ambushed you?" she asked.

"Feeling restless," he replied. His eyes jumped to the giant clock that kept track of time since the last Kaiju attack. She followed his gaze and then looked away.

"I get claustrophobic in here sometimes," she confessed. "I work to keep myself distracted."

Herc surveyed the cavernous metal structure around them.

"I used to be outside most days, back in the air force," he said. "Used to wide open skies, green below or water as far as the eye can see. But that was another lifetime."

"When this is over, I think I'd like to live in a house on top of a great green hill," she said. "Miles and miles of hilly countryside every which way. Not by the water. Not anywhere near the Pacific."

"When this is over," he echoed, a hard edge creeping into his voice. "I haven't thought of that possibility recently," he admitted. "Have you, really?"

She frowned and shook her head, as if admitting a shameful secret.

"I should get back to work," she said, nodding back to her monitor. She was closing down, shutting him out.

"And I should be heading back."

"See you around, Hercules," she said quietly and he laughed. The morbid ending of their conversation hadn't squished her mood entirely.

"I had a Training Instructor who loved to call me that in front of the squadron: 'Airman Hercules!' Everyone else was on a last name basis. It drove me crazy."

"I'll keep your secrets if you keep mine," she replied.

"Good night, Andromeda!"

"Yah, yah, very funny, Ranger!"


	3. Chapter 3

Andy watched him leave and turned to the controls before her. She felt unsettled, but that was to be expected. It was not often that one got to meet one's heroes. In this world, Rangers were larger than life. But Herc Hansen was way more decent and human than she'd imagined he'd be. Surely that's why she was buzzing with nervous tension around him.

She sighed. If the world ended tomorrow, she would not be bitter. If she ignored the grim reality of the Kaiju invasion behind everything, her work for the past five years had been amazing, and this week she got to upgrade the world's only Mark V Jaeger, an amazing piece of machinery. She'd worked with Newton Geiszler and he was brilliant if a little insane. She'd met Herc Hansen.

The buzzing in her veins slowed a little. He'd seemed interested in what she said, and once she got over the initial surprise, she'd felt comfortable talking to him. He'd half perched on the edge of one of the consoles, his left knee up, his left hand holding his right elbow casually. He had a quiet, deep voice that rumbled in his chest. His eyes were pale blue, his beard unshaven and a bit scruffy, and his close cropped hair coppery red. He was not a large man, but he was strong, and very fit. She'd never thought him particularly handsome, not when she'd seen him on TV. Maybe she'd been wrong.

She realized that her other tech partner was asking her something.

"What?" she startled.

"Earth to Andy," Tyler Park joked. "You in there?"

She'd first met Tyler two years ago when he joined Newton Geiszler's team in California. She exceeded him in seniority by one year which in the scientific world didn't mean much, except that she was slightly more accustomed to Newton Geiszler's punk rock approach to neuroelectonics and his morbid love of the Kaiju.

"Yep! Sorry. Wool gathering," Andy mumbled.

"A-ha! That's what you call it," he intoned, raising his eyebrows suggestively. "Did you gather all you needed?"

Andy blushed and thought about that, as she forced her attention back to the monitors. She wondered if she looked like a star-struck fool to the others. She shrugged it off and got back to work.

* * *

Mako's first Drift could have been a disaster of epic proportions. Andy's legs were still a bit weak with relief that they hadn't blown up the dome. Chasing rabbits was common enough for new Rangers. Firing a Jaeger's main gun inside the Shatterdome with a thousand or so people in it, not as much.

Andy stopped along the hallway where a crowd had gathered, and was spellbound by the scene before her. Chuck and Raleigh were having it out. She'd seen Chuck's temper flare before, but this was a whole new level.

Chuck's disdain for Raleigh and Mako had been evident from the beginning. It seemed to Andy to have no basis except that Chuck's perfectionist nature saw Raleigh as a rival, or as a liability. After Raleigh's almost catastrophic first Drift with Mako, Chuck had obviously lost it. Insults didn't seem enough, and now the two were fighting with a crowd gathered around them. Raleigh had the upper hand and was winning, which only made Chuck madder. Herc and Marshal Pentecost burst out of Pentecost's office and Herc pulled the two apart.

Andy watched him as he restrained his son. Herc had always treated Raleigh with respect, from the first. She would have expected him to be furious and ashamed of Chuck's behavior, and he probably was, but Herc gave his son the same respect and patience he gave to others. He just held him back.

When the crowd dispersed, Herc noticed Andy standing there. He ran a hand through his short coppery hair in frustration. She looked away, feeling guilty to be found gawking with the crowd. She wished she could say something to him. That he was a good dad. That Chuck would get over his ego as he got older. That he was young and under a lot of pressure. That things would get easier. But that last one at least was not something she could promise him, Andy knew. So she walked silently away.

* * *

Geiszler and Gottlieb were arguing again. Andy scanned the group gathered. Marshal Pentecost stood with Herc Hansen. Herc had nodded at her briefly when they entered the room, but hadn't looked her way since. Their brief intimacy seemed a thing of the distant past. Andy tried not to feel disappointed.

Chuck hovered at the back of the room, with Max the bulldog for company, still angry after the fist fight with Raleigh Becket. Becket and Mori stood together close to Pentecost. The Russian and Chinese crews formed two separate groups.

Tyler elbowed her to get her attention and then rolled his eyes. She could tell he was enjoying this. She smiled back, her shoulders shaking silently. The two of them were part of Geiszler's team. Their loyalties were entirely with him, although at times Geiszler gave even them the impression of being unhinged.

"I can do this," Geiszler yelled to the room at large, his voice high and strident. "I can Drift with the Kaiju brain. It will give us the inside edge you need Marshal. We need to know our enemy. Without this, your plan will fail just like the other tries."

"It is an idiot idea," Gottlieb replied in his dry, clipped tone. "The human brain cannot handle it."

"Of course it can. And in any case, it's better than crunching numbers blindly," Geiszler jabbed back. "Where has that gotten us?"

Pentecost stared at him, as if trying to determine if the man was insane or as spectacularly gifted as his reputation maintained. He'd also noticed like everyone else that Gottlieb was not denying the value of this course of action, only its possibility of success.

"Dr. Geiszler is correct, Marshal," Andy piped up. Faces turned to her, and she straightened her shoulders imperceptibly. "It can be done, but I believe it should only be attempted in a pair, with a drift compatible partner. Not alone."

Pentecost looked to Geiszler for confirmation.

"Yah, well, it would be safer," he said dismissively; however a small look of satisfaction crossed his face knowing his team might just have won him the argument.

"With a partner, then!" Pentecost said and no one doubted that it was an order. "Who with? You?"

Andy blinked. "No, sir, I don't think Dr. Geiszler and I are ... compatible," Tyler was overcome by a fit of coughing beside her. Mako's face dissolved into a grin from behind Pentecost. Andy forced her face to remain impassive. "To make an educated assumption, sir, I would say Dr. Gottlieb would be."

Gottlieb's jaw dropped.

Andy continued. "They've got the same neural spectrum with sufficient opposite ... well, never mind the details. I think it will work. But it would have to be tested."

"Get them tested," Pentecost agreed. Andy nodded and her eyes slid to Herc Hansen. He was smiling at her, amusement and admiration shone in his eyes. Her heart twisted in her chest and she looked blindly in the middle distance, hoping her cheeks were not turning red.

As everyone filed out of the lab Andy half hoped that Herc Hansen would stay behind. She couldn't think of anything important enough to ask him that would not seem like a ruse. To her disappointment he walked to the door and after a quick exchange with his son, he glanced back briefly and left.

"Good thinking," Chuck Hansen said coming towards her.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, that was smooth," Tyler said. He patted Andy on the shoulder. She gave him a side glance that hopefully looked panicked enough for him to understand and stick around. Tyler was the closest thing to a best friend she had these days. Besides Mako. But she'd barely seen Mako since Raleigh Becket had arrived at the Shatterdome.

"Do you want to grab a coffee downstairs with me?" Chuck asked.

Andy pursed her lips and stalled.

"I'm a bit tied up," she said vaguely. She looked at Tyler for help. He tilted his head at her. She was a big girl, and should take care of her own battles, his eyes told her. But he didn't leave the room. "Sorry," she told him, "no." For good measure so that he wouldn't misunderstand her she added, "Don't take it personally."

She didn't dislike Chuck, but besides his being a bit too young and full of himself, his kind of machismo was not her cup of tea. And he was Herc's son. And that made it all wrong.

Gathering up her stuff, Andy left, training behind Tyler. In the hallway she was surprised to see Herc leaning against the railing, presumably waiting for Chuck.

She felt suddenly angry. Herc's silent concession to his son's interest in her irked her. So that's all she was in his eyes? A potential date for his son?

"Ranger Hansen," she said crisply and barely nodded in acknowledgement as they passed him. The surprise that registered on his face did little to soothe her anger. He straightened and took a few steps to follow. Andy kept walking.

"Well, that didn't go so well," Chuck said casually joining his dad. "I think she's dating that other geek from the lab. He wouldn't leave her side." He bent down and petted Max affectionately. The bulldog whined, pleased with the attention.

Herc swore softly under his breath and rubbed a hand over his face. He hadn't allowed himself the luxury of an admission that Andy Tahoe was interested in him – _him_, Herc, not Chuck or the idea of a Ranger – but after how he'd played this just now, he wouldn't be surprised if she changed her mind.


	4. Chapter 4

Andy lay in her bunk and stared at the ceiling. Today was her twenty ninth birthday, and not a soul knew or remembered. Her parents were long gone and what relatives she had left, she hadn't kept in touch with. Her work had become her life.

She'd wanted to say something to Mako or Tyler at least, but in the urgency of the work, it had seemed trivial. She had moved around so much in the last ten years that no one she knew had known her longer than two years at most. Dr. Geiszler had known her longer, but he was not the kind of man who remembered details about people. You had to be three hundred feet and leathery skinned for him to remember particulars.

Her connections with people had been short and conflicted. On one hand, she'd craved the intimacy of friendship and community. With the strain the world was under, people were more likely to open up quickly.

But past a certain point Andy always pulled back. She was afraid. People had died, got moved around, or turned out to be very different than what they seemed. She had become increasingly cautious and she realized, lonely. Romantic relationships had been few and short lived. And in the last five years, nonexistent.

Her thoughts drifted to Herc Hansen. Seeing someone on TV for the past ten years didn't mean you knew them. A week on the same station and a couple conversations didn't do that either. Yet, her gut told her that she was not wrong about him. The more she saw of him, the more it confirmed the opinion that he was every bit as decent as he seemed to be.

Except for yesterday's display. But maybe he just wasn't interested. Or maybe he was, but the relationship between him and his son was a bit like walking a tightrope – she could believe that after what she'd seen of Chuck's temperament.

And even if it were so, where did that leave her? With a Double Event looming in likely less than a day and a Triple possibly hovering in its wake. The world fought its last battle. Herc was on the front lines. There was no time. In the shadow of the apocalypse, her unexpected budding affection should be irrelevant. Instead it seemed to grow, larger than life. She swallowed hard and sat up. Enough of this moping! She pulled a shirt over her tank top and pulled her boots back on.

She found Tyler still in the lab. Geiszler and Gottlieb were still bickering over some details of the drift.

"Guess what?" she said when Tyler noticed her.

"You have no life outside of work," he guessed.

"Ha! Ha!" she mocked, but didn't bother to deny. "Today is my birthday, that's what!"

"That's sad, girl!" Tyler said and looked at his watch. "It only took you, uh … ten hours to work up the courage to say that?"

"So, I've got issues," she said raising her hands. "Sue me!"

"Come, I'll do better. I'll get you an over-fried oily donut in the mess hall," he said standing and pushing his chair back.

Andy laughed. "Oh-ho-ho, my favourite!"

* * *

She hadn't thought of running into Herc there. He was sitting by himself with Max the dog. She was not sure which one looked more forlorn, man or beast. His head came up, his eyes met hers. Her anger at him evaporated.

"Everyone, listen up," Tyler called out to the handful of people still loitering in the mess hall. "It's Andromeda's birthday!"

"Oh, good grief," Andy moaned covering her face. Cheers and catcalls echoed around the hall. "Kill me now!"

"Chef, you still have those awful, awful donuts you make every day?" Tyler asked the sour-faced man who popped his head out of the kitchen to see what the ruckus was about.

"They're from this morning and they're stale," the man replied despondently.

"Just the way she likes them!" Tyler told him. "Gimme what you've got. And two coffees."

Andy sat down by Herc. She patted Max affectionately and he licked her hand and then his own face and thumped his stubby tail.

"Hey!" she said to Herc.

"Hey, yourself! He felt relieved that she was still talking to him. "Is it really your birthday?" he asked.

"Yes it is."

He raised his water glass towards her. "Cheers, birthday girl!" Her lips curled up at the edges, her head tilting softly, and Herc thought for a moment how tempting it would be to reach over and kiss her.

"What's the damage?" he asked leaning back instead, away from the temptation. He wouldn't normally ask something like this, but somehow it seemed important to know.

"Twenty nine."

"I thought you were younger than that," he admitted.

"More like Chuck's age?" she asked dryly. Herc took a sip of his water and looked down at the table.

The guys started singing "_For she's a jolly good fellow" _around them, and Tyler punctuated the end by slapping down a tray with dried-up donuts and two mugs of coffee.

"Eat! Clog your arteries!" he ordered. "You're going to come back to the lab and slave away the rest of the night."

"Thanks Tyler! I appreciate you, even though you're insane."

Herc looked between them cautiously. Had Chuck been right about Andy dating Tyler Park? He could have sworn that was not the case, but maybe he'd been wrong.

"So, birthday girl," Tyler began, "since I don't have a present for you, you get to choose an item in my possession. Maybe this four-ink pen that you've been coveting," he said taking a plastic chewed-up pen from his breast pocket, "or perhaps my uber-awesome tape measure that I have from IKEA Hong Kong, no less." He emptied his pockets on the table revealing a surprising amount of knick-knacks. "You can have any, and I mean any, of these valued possessions of mine." He gestured widely indicating his largesse.

Andy was shaking silently with laughter. Herc watched her.

"What's that?" she pointed to a paper corner sticking out of Tyler's breast pocket. "What are you holding back from me?"

He felt the pocket again and pulled out the item. It was a worn wallet-sized photograph. On it a young woman and a toddler smiled widely. "Except this one," Tyler said. "You can only look at this one, you can't keep it." Andy looked at it and passed it on to Herc. She'd seen them before in digital versions. She hadn't realized he kept a print. "My wife and son," Tyler explained.

"Where are they now?" Herc asked him.

"They're so far away they might as well be on the moon." He sighed. "Inland, in Canada." He took the photo back and ran his thumb over it a little distracted. "At least they're safe. For now. She wanted to come with me when I knew I was coming to Hong Kong, but I was scared to let them. I didn't realize just how much I'd miss them."

Andy laid her hand over Tyler's forearm. She looked sideways at Herc who patted Tyler on the back.

"I want the IKEA tape," Andy said. "That pen's disgusting. You chew on it all the time, and the blue and black are out of ink. Did you think I didn't know?"

Tyler startled out of his mood, banged a fist on the table.

"It's yours!" he announced grandly, and the photo disappeared back in his pocket. He took a sip of his coffee. "Man, this stuff is awful. It needs milk." He got up and went to look for it.

Andy and Herc sat in silence.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," Herc said. "It was ..."_stupid_, he added in his head.

"Don't mention it," Andy interrupted him. "I think I understand how things are between you and your son. But I'm not ..."

"You don't have to ..."

"I mean, I thought that you..."

Just then Tyler returned with a pitcher of milk and some packets of honey.

"Lookie here what I found!" he announced proudly. His eyes traveled between Andy to Herc. Both were looking away. Max however was giving him his full attention.

"No, this is not for you," Tyler told him placing the items away from Max's side of the table.

They ate the stale donuts and washed them down with coffee. Andy avoided making eye contact with Herc.

"I'm heading back up," Tyler said. "I'll see you there, but no rush." He stood and stuffed the paraphernalia of items spread out on the table back into his pockets.

"Thanks Ty," Andy said. "This was lovely." He patted her shoulder.

"We'll do it again sometime. Hopefully before the apocalypse." He waved and took off.

Another silence descended after he'd left. Andy petted Max absentmindedly. The dog whined softly, perhaps sensing their mood.

"Andy, I've thought of my son first for nearly ten years," Herc said with some difficulty. "I would give up anything I was able to for him."

Andy made an effort to meet his eyes. Who said facing a Kaiju was the ultimate test of bravery? They didn't know how terrifying plain and simple vulnerability was.

"Some things you can't give away, Herc," she answered. "They're not for anyone else. Just you. Unless you don't want them."

She chickened out then, stood and walked out of the mess hall. Max jumped off the bench and trotted after her a few meters, then stopped and looked back at Herc. When Herc didn't move to follow, Max barked, and tilted his head.

Herc stared after Andy, until she had slipped out though the double doors. "Just you," she'd said. He could still hear the slight tremor in her voice. He realized his heart was beating fast.

Max returned at his side and whined softly. "Don't worry, Max," Herc said to him, patting his head. "It will be ok. You just wait and see. I've got slow reflexes outside the Jaeger."


	5. Chapter 5

The blaring alarm was loud enough to wake the dead. For a few seconds Herc though it was the Kaiju siren, but this sound was different, higher pitched, drilling into his skull. He'd been walking towards Geiszler's lab, hoping to get a chance to speak to Andy. He knew what he wanted to say to her.

People were rushing towards the main hall. Herc saw Chuck with Tendo Choi.

"What's happening?" Herc called out to them.

"Fire in Geiszler's lab," Tendo Choi yelled back. Chuck stopped beside his dad. Herc felt his blood run cold. He shouldn't have let her go. He should have said something. Blast his slow emotional reflexes! She wouldn't be back in the lab now if he'd been less mutton-brained.

Herc passed Max's leash to Chuck. He broke into a run, and Chuck followed close behind him. Firefighter crews were already assembling. Herc saw Geiszler being carried out by Tyler Park.

He grabbed Tyler's upper arm to get his attention. "Where's Andy?"

"She's inside. She's ok. Gottlieb's unconscious and she's trying to keep the Kaiju brain from burning."

"Stay outside," Herc told Chuck, and pushed his way through into the smoky lab. Sparks flew from the blaze in the left corner. Gottlieb sagged awkwardly on the floor against a far wall. He looked like he'd been dragged there, his limbs at awkward angles. Andy, sooty and armed with a fire extinguisher, was defending the giant glass beaker that held the part of Kaiju brain in which Geiszler had invested all his hopes. She was wearing thick rubber gloves that came up to her elbows and she'd put goggles on. Herc noted the protective wear with a mental nod of relief.

"Andy," Herc yelled. "You have to get out!"

"Get Gottlieb out," she yelled back, barely turning to look at him. She coughed into the side of her arm, but didn't stop spraying.

He lifted the scientist easily over his shoulder. Gottlieb was light, like a dried husk of skin and bone, exactly as he'd imagined him. He carried him out and dumped him with the medics.

"Dad, they've got it covered," Chuck called to him. "Don't go back in there."

"Andy's still in there," Herc told him and rushed back in.

The firefighter crew had taken over, three of them spewing a spray of dry white powder over the melting consoles. Andy was disconnecting pieces of equipment from the yet unaffected side of the lab before the fire or powder spray could damage them. Tyler and Tendo carried them out as fast as she could get them unplugged.

"Get out of here, both of you!" she yelled at Herc and Raleigh who were both trying to help. "You shouldn't be in here! There are enough people to help."

Herc clenched his fists and glared at her.

"C'mon, Herc," Raleigh said, "she's right."

"Leave it, Andy, and come out!" Herc yelled to her.

"I can't!" she yelled back. "This stuff might give us a chance!" Her face was dirty and she was bleeding from a cut below her ear. He could barely see her eyes through the tinted goggles. "You have to stay alive and fight the Kaiju, and I need to keep this from blowing to smithereens. Please, Herc, go!"

As Herc and Raleigh ran out, Tyler passed them on his way back in with two other firefighters. Tyler touched Herc's arm in passing. Their eyes met and Tyler gave him a nod.

"They've cut the power," Tyler yelled. "It'll be fine!"

Herc let himself be herded to a safe distance from the blaze. He stood there with his fists clenched, his jaw working furiously. He hated this feeling. He piloted a Jaeger so he wouldn't have to feel helpless. How odd that a small fire could be so much more terrifying in the shadow of impending apocalypse? If something happened to her now ...

"She'll be fine," Raleigh said to him quietly. "They're on this. They've got it under control."

"Dad, you ok?"

"I'm fine, son," he said automatically, his eyes not leaving the blaze, and missed the odd look Chuck was giving him.

Two hours later, a pile of equipment had been dragged out and away from the lab and the fire had been put out. Geiszler had regained consciousness and was running his team through an inventory. The massive brain piece had survived unscathed. Pentecost had finally left ten minutes earlier assured that things were under control.

Herc hovered behind after most of the crowd had gone. Finally a very tired Andy came walking towards him. With her goggles off, the white clean skin around her eyes stood in sharp contrast with the rest of her face.

"You're still here," she said with a weak smile. "Newt gave us five minutes. Don't you have any Ranger work to do?"

Herc reached out a hand and grasped her upper arm, and pulled her closer. She didn't resist. With the other hand he lifted her hair away from the cut under her ear. It had stopped bleeding, and had been stitched by the medics, but her neck and the top of her tank top were covered in dried blood. He could feel her shaking with exhaustion under his hands.

"They're bringing in spare parts," she said. "We should have this cleaned up and working again in a couple of hours. Geiszler wants to try to drift before the night's over."

"Aren't there people who can take over? You need a rest."

Her face dissolved into a wistful smile. "And a shower!" She shook her head. "Go away, Herc! I'm not a child. You can't protect me from this. I am going to pull my weight." She smiled and placed her palm on the middle of his chest. "But I admit that having you worried about me is rather nice."

She glanced sideway at the clock on the far side of the hangar. He followed her eyes to it. Fourteen days and five hours since the last attack. The next one would come soon. Very soon.

He swept strands of hair back from her smudged face. His fingers on her skin send shivers down her spine. "I know you're not a child, and I know you will pull your weight." His thumb stroked across her cheek. "But remember what you said to me in the mess hall, about my not keeping things for myself?"

She nodded, watching him closely. It was his turn to feel vulnerable.

"If you think I don't want to, you're wrong. I want it. All of it."

He swallowed and watched her expressions change as she took in the significance of his words. "So, does that mean you're not letting Chuck ask me for coffee again?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"I'll punch him in the face if he does. How's that?"

She laughed, sweet and clear, and leaned her forehead against his shoulder. His hands fell to her waist. He smiled with his cheek against her hair.

She tilted her head back a bit so she could look at him. "I'm glad that's cleared up. But I gotta tell you, you've got terrible timing. There's barely any time, Herc," she whispered.

As if on cue, the siren blast cut through the dome, and Andy jumped and yelped, covering her ears. "Oh, no. Not so soon!"

A new Kaiju had emerged. Two, if Gottlieb's theory was correct, and he very likely was. Throwing caution to the wind, Herc squeezed her tight in his arms. Her arms came around him and she squeezed back. He swore softly into her hair.

Andy pulled back, her face chalk white. "Your turn," she said grimly. "You watch yourself, Herc! Please!"

"Go fix your lab," he ordered. "Better be good as new when I get back."


	6. Chapter 6

In the wake of the Double Event, two Jaegers were destroyed, two crews dead. Striker Eureka was being towed in, its circuits disabled, and Herc Hansen cursed his broken arm. He'd be useless until it healed. Chuck couldn't pilot Striker without a drift partner. And Gipsy Danger couldn't make a go of the mission alone without backup. In less than a day there would be a Triple event, and they were sitting ducks.

Herc had refused a stretcher, but now he wished he hadn't. He hadn't really felt it at first. Now the pain tore upwards from his fingertips up his shoulder and into the base of his skull. He kept placing one foot ahead of the other. Chuck threw him furtive side glances.

The Shatterdome's massive doors opened and men and machines filed into the giant ant hill. People rushed around them. Repair crews were already on their way to Striker. The turnover had to be quick.

"Dad, you hanging in there?" Chuck asked, pale faced beside him.

"Yeah," Herc said, his jaw clenched painfully. It had been close. Both of them knew it. Their relationship outside the Drift was not what he had hoped for, but when linked, father and son understood each other, and worked well together. Herc remembered Andy's whispered words. There was barely any time left. "Yeah, I'm alright, son," he said with more conviction.

Chuck walked silently beside him. "So, what's the deal with you and Andy Tahoe, dad?" Chuck blurted.

Herc cursed the perks of having another person in your head. He had no privacy from his son.

"I like her, Chuck," he answered as honestly as he could.

"That's an understatement if I ever heard one. But ok."

"Yeah," Herc admitted, "an understatement."

"You should have said something, dad," Chuck said reproachfully. "I wouldn't have, you know, talked about her or...you know I wasn't really ... not like you are... You don't have to do stuff like that for me."

Herc stared at his son in surprise. Could it be that he was growing up a little?

Chuck shook his head and patted Herc on the shoulder. Herc winced. It was his injured arm, but he let that go. One step at a time. He looked at his son who was now chuckling softly.

"What?"

"Her name's Andromeda," Chuck replied.

"Ah, grow up!" Herc muttered, and Chuck just laughed harder.

* * *

Herc stared at the ceiling while the medics shot him full of painkillers and reset his broken arm. They put his arm in a soft cast and a sling and he was helped back to his feet. One of the medics put a plastic bottle of pills into his hand.

"You can lean on me, dad," Chuck said, as he helped him navigate through the crowds in the halls. Herc thought philosophically about that statement. He thought about his role and purpose as a father. Then he thought about the purpose of life. He stopped walking and frowned. He figured the meds were really kicking in.

"You need a break?" Chuck asked him.

"That's a tough question, son," Herc replied. Chuck blinked twice. "Let's keep going," Herc said watching the confusion play across Chuck's face.

In their quarters, Chuck let Herc to his bunk. "Lie down a while, dad."

He lay down and then sat up again. "I need to find Andy. Make sure she's ok."

"I got it, dad," Chuck told him. "Just lie down a bit. I'll find Andy for you."

Standing on Striker's shoulder earlier, as he was about to shoot his flare in the Kaiju's eye, Herc had thought of Andy, and thought he'd let her down. He and Chuck, they've had only each other for so long. If they went out together, there was no one to mourn them, no one to leave behind. When that Kaiju turned on them, Herc had suddenly realized this was no longer true, and he felt like a selfish, reckless fool. Not only for Andy, but for Chuck too.

He looked at his son who was standing there, tired, his eyes red-rimmed, trying to take on a different role in their relationship.

"Chuck, I know I don't say it much," Herc started, "but son, I love you. I'm proud of you."

"Wow dad, they should give you intravenous T3s more often. We could have a heart to heart every day," he said flippantly, but he turned away and wiped both palms across his face.

"I mean it, Chuck," Herc said. Their eyes met and held.

"I know dad. I know. Now just lie down for while. I'll go find Andy."

* * *

Herc woke to voices speaking quietly beside his bed.

"So, when you said you wouldn't have coffee with me, it was 'cause you'd rather have coffee with my old man, eh?" Chuck was saying.

"Are you using that as a sort of euphemism?" Andy replied amused.

"Sorta."

Andy laughed softly. "I can't take you seriously. You're such a dork."

"Well, you should know that my dad definitely wants to have a coffee with you!"

"Chuck!"

"He's badly in need of a good coffee!"

"Wow, you're a riot! What are you, ten years old?"

"Maybe twelve."

"Oh, big difference!"

Herc stirred and both Chuck and Andy rushed to his side.

"I'm glad you two are getting along so well," he muttered feeling groggy. His arm felt like someone was driving needles into it and his body was stiff and sore. His meds were wearing off. He struggled to sit up. He saw he'd managed to take his boots off earlier. Or perhaps Chuck had done it for him.

"How are you feeling old man?" Chuck asked. Herc closed his eyes and thought that if Chuck referred to him as 'old man' one more time, he would punch him in the face.

"Oh, just great," he replied. He glanced sideways at Andy. She was looking between them with a slight smile.

She filled a glass with water from the tap and handed it to him. He drank it all in one go. He watched her above the rim of the glass. She'd showered and changed, but he doubted she got any sleep. He looked at his watch. He'd been out for a little under four hours.

Chuck regarded them scientifically. "If I leave you two alone to snatch some food, will you behave?" Herc lifted an eyebrow. "What would you like from the mess hall, dad?"

"I sure could use a good coffee," Herc said innocently, and Chuck choked and started coughing. He closed the door behind him to the sound of Andy's laughter.

"He deserved that," she told Herc. "How's the pain?"

Herc closed his eyes and grimaced. Andy scanned the room. She spotted the pain killers on the rim of the sink. She unscrewed the lid and poured two into her palm, then stretched her hand out to him.

"Take them."

Herc hesitated. "They'll make me groggy. I can't be groggy for a drift. Pentecost won't ..."

"You know you're not going back, Herc," she said softly. She sat beside him on the edge of the bunk. "They're not letting you back inside Striker, not with your arm broken."

Herc took a deep breath and held it a moment, then exhaled audibly. His eyes were focused on nothing. "Chuck can't drive alone. They can't find him a drift compatible partner now. He can't drift with someone new for something this big."

"He'll have to," Andy replied.

Herc turned his face to her, understanding finally dawning behind his eyes.

"He'll have to go without me," he whispered. "He'll have to go to the rift without me." He shook his head, unbelieving. The implications were all becoming clear to him. His chest rose and fell spasmodically, as he struggled to breathe.

Andy took his hand and placed the painkillers in his cupped palm. He looked at them unseeing, but put them in his mouth and took the water glass from her and drank it down. Andy took the empty glass from his shaking hand.

"Don't jump to conclusions," she said. "Nothing's for sure. You both could have died tonight."

He looked up at her then.

"That was stupid, Herc! Coming out of the Jaeger and shooting flares at the Kaiju?"

"Yeah, that sure was stupid," he agreed. "How did you see it?" He was making an effort to turn his thoughts away, not to dwell on what was coming.

"Camera feeds from Gipsy Danger. I could see you on the monitors." She licked her lips. "I thought Pentecost would blow a gasket, and I think my heart stopped for a couple of seconds. I remembered the old commentator saying '_Herc Hansen is fearless'. _More like reckless! "

He placed his good hand over her heart just above her breast, and felt her intake of breath. "I thought you said I was comfortable." He felt her heart racing under his palm.

"When not suicidal."

"Having you worry about me is rather nice," he said, echoing what she'd said to him after the fire.

"Are you calling it payback?"

He shook his head. "I am sorry I scared you," he said softly, his palm curling around her neck, his thumb lingering just under her ear. "Comes with the job, unfortunately."

Her hand cupped his cheek and she nodded.

"I'd better go wash up," Herc whispered, his eyes locked with hers, but he didn't move away.

"Uh-huh," she said and touched his lips with hers. He leaned forward into the kiss, cupping the back of her head to hold her close. Her mouth was soft and when her lips parted under his he groaned and dove in. He tilted her head just a little, feeling her tongue brush against his.

"I've wanted to do that for a while now," he told her.

He leaned his forehead against hers. Her breath came fast and shallow. She licked her lips and looked up at him, her eyes shaded.

"I take back 'comfortable'," she whispered.

Herc shook with laughter, and then flinched at the fresh pain that shot up his arm.

"I guess you'd better go," she said, "before your son walks in and makes any more coffee comments."

He chuckled, and rose reluctantly to his feet. Andy watched him walk to the sink and splash water on his face with the one good hand. She watched his back, the way his muscles shifted under his t-shirt.

Chuck knocked and came in laden with food.

"This needs to be quick," he told them. "Marshal wants us on deck in half an hour." Chuck seemed subdued. He met Herc's eyes and looked away. Behind the redness and exhaustion there was something new: fear. "The plan's going ahead," he told them.


	7. Chapter 7

Herc heard his son's voice on the comm and the blood chilled in his veins. He feared when Chuck had left that they were saying goodbye for good. And now he knew he would never see him again.

"Let's make room for the lady," Pentecost's voice said.

"Yes, sir, let's do it," Chuck replied.

Andy followed their brain patterns closely on her monitor, her eyebrows drawing together as she squinted at the displays. She saw Herc's face harden with grief. He closed his eyes. Striker Eureka was about to detonate its payload so that Raleigh and Mako would have a chance to get to the rift. Pentecost and Chuck, resigned to do what had to be done.

But something wasn't right.

Andy stood and shoved her chair back hearing it slam into something behind her. She ran to the center console, pushing her way beside Herc, her face near the mic. Herc didn't know to ask for this, but she could ask for him.

Stacker Pentecost said he brought no ego and no memories into the drift. He was right in some ways and wrong in others. She'd seen his brain patterns and knew down to the last detail how the drift worked. While Chuck and Pentecost were able to drift together, they were not ideal partners. They were not balanced. The scales were uneven and Pentecost had the weightier side. Chuck had already been struggling to hold his own.

But against Pentecost's willpower and single-mindedness he didn't stand a chance. And Pentecost had resigned himself to death, now, this way. He wasn't paying attention to anything else, and she couldn't blame him. Herc had asked him to remember who he had with him: _his son_. But right at this moment Pentecost remembered nothing. The stakes were much too high.

He hadn't paid attention to the part of Chuck's mind that was screaming to live.

"Marshal," she called to Pentecost across the comm, "Marshal, put Chuck in a pod! You can detonate without him. There's still time for him!"

The silence of two or three seconds stretched out to infinity. She was asking a good man to die alone. But Pentecost would have already done this if his mind had been clearer. It didn't take two pilots to detonate a bomb.

"Get out of here, Hansen," Pentecost's voice came clear and firm. Chuck started to say something but Pentecost cut him off. "That's an order. Do it NOW!"

A minute passed that felt like hours. Striker Eureka exploded. Andy stepped back. She was shaking. Herc met her eyes briefly. She saw that he would not allow himself to hope. The blast had disrupted all readings in Striker's vicinity. If Chuck was in an escape pod, alive or dead, they would not be able to tell.

The link to Gipsy Danger however was live, the fight still on. She went back to her seat, and pulled up Raleigh and Mako's drift patterns.

* * *

As Mako and Raleigh, their arms around each other, watched the rescue helicopters fly in, Mako's eyes lowered to the horizon, to a dark spot bobbing on the water.

"Raleigh, look!" she shouted and waved.

Across the water, standing on another pod, Chuck Hansen waved back.

* * *

Andy and Herc ran out to meet the helicopters on the tarmac. They hadn't had time to speak to each other since before the mission. After Pentecost's death, Herc had assumed the role of Marshal of the Shatterdome. He was next in command to Pentecost. He'd sent orders for the rescue helicopters. He'd ordered the clock stopped. He contacted world leaders to give the news of the closed rift.

People were celebrating, calling their loved ones, making plans. There was no cellphone reception inside the Dome, so most technicians were outside calling their families. Andy saw Tyler standing at the edge of the tarmac, probably making his long distance call to Canada.

Watching Herc embrace his son Andy felt a tightness expand in her chest, until it was hard to breathe.

Mako reached her and grasped her arm.

Andy struggled to hold herself together. The powerful mix of elation and grief had a powerful kick. They had won the world, but Mako had lost a father. The magnitude of it didn't make the exchange any less painful. They hugged each other silently.

When they pulled apart, they saw Chuck and Raleigh shaking hands. Raleigh said something to him and Chuck nodded, his eyes on the ground. He avoided Andy's eye, and watching him closely, she got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't need the brain scan this time to tell the something wasn't right.

* * *

When the others had left and the crowd dispersed, Andy, Herc and Chuck were left alone in the semi-privacy of the loading dock. Herc threw her a silent look of warning. He knew his son's body language better than anyone. He knew something was coming.

"Chuck," he said slowly, a small warning.

"I need to talk to Andy, dad," Chuck said in a tight voice.

"Then talk to her," Herc told him.

"Alone."

Herc shook his head. "No. You say what you gotta say," he bit out. "But I'm not going anywhere."

Chuck glared at Herc. "Fine!" He half turned to Andy, but still didn't meet her eyes. "What makes you think you have the right to call the shots?" he bit out, his anger barely contained. "It wasn't your call. I had made my decision."

"But it wasn't necessary," Andy replied. She wasn't sure what she could possibly say that would not enrage him.

"It was MY decision!" Chuck yelled. He turned to face her and for the first time since she'd met him, Andy felt the full brunt of Chuck's temper aimed at her. She'd seen it at work against others. She'd never imagined she'd ever be on the receiving end.

"That's not all true," she answered, raising her voice enough to show him she would stand her ground. "You know your drift was unbalanced, right from the start. You felt it."

"I could have held my own. I would have died willingly. I didn't need to be rescued."

"What, you'd rather have died a hero, than live and admit you were scared? Or that you wanted to live? That you're not superman?"

"Is that what you saw, Andy?" he demanded. He took a step towards her, and behind him, so did Herc.

"What do you mean, Chuck?"

"When you told him to get me out. What did you see?"

She wasn't sure what to say to him, or what he needed. She looked up at Herc standing a few feet to the side, watching them silent and tense. He couldn't help her, not with this. He was much too worried about Chuck's state of mind. So this is what it felt like to be in other people's lives? You got the whole messy baggage.

"I saw," she started very slowly, letting each word sink in, "that you didn't need to be there, and Pentecost had missed that."

"You saw that I was afraid, and you thought you'd rescue me, as if I were a child. Well, it wasn't your call. You are not responsible for me, whatever's going on with you and my dad."

Andy exhaled sharply, her eyes hard. "This is not about what I am to you or your dad," she bit back. "Don't use it as ammo. It's worth nothing. I made that call as a drift technician. It _was_ my call to make!" She could see him trying to take it all in, battling against his guilt. "You had a chance to live. And I took it. I know you wanted to live. So what is this? Why are you so angry for being still alive?"

"Do you know what I felt when he ordered me out?" Chuck asked her. He wiped angrily at his eyes with the back of his palms. "I was relieved." He looked at her with a mixture of anger and self loathing. "I rushed out of there in a blink. But you of course knew that. You could read it on your monitor," he added bitterly.

"I knew you were gonna go through with it, regardless of what you feelt. But, Chuck, your life is precious. It was not worth throwing away to make a point," she said to him.

"I should have died with him," Chuck said bitterly. "I owed it to him. He was my drift partner."

"Your drift partner for an _hour_," Andy's voice was sharp as steel. "You owed it to him? If that's your thinking, what about your drift partner for the last five years? Do you owe nothing to _him_? Do you know what it would do to him if you died?"

Chuck looked up at his dad then, and his control broke. His face crumpled and Herc was by his side in two steps, engulfing him in a tight one armed hug.

"I'm sorry, dad," Chuck sobbed into his shoulder.

"It's ok, son," Herc said tightly. "It's ok. I'm here."

Andy stepped back and watched them. She was shaking, her heart pounding in her chest. She backed away until she reached the hallway and then turned and walked unseeing through the crowd. She'd done her part. Herc would have to take it from there. She took one step after another without knowing where she was headed and at some point she realized she was crying.


	8. Chapter 8

Andy sat on her bunk in her room, her mind turning over and over the events of the day. She was too wired to sleep and too exhausted to do anything else.

Back in the lab, Geiszler had gone ballistic over the amount of data they had accumulated from the other side of the rift before Gipsy Danger detonated. It was going to keep them busy for a long time, sorting it out and analyzing it. She was most likely returning to L.A. with her team, probably sooner than later.

No one knew the future of the Jaeger program. She hadn't heard from Herc, but she knew he'd be in meetings all day. Rumours were circulating like wildfire, but she doubted anyone had the truth of it just yet. If it all got dismantled as planned, especially now that the Kaiju threat was over, would Herc be returning to Sydney? And if he was, would she give up her work to go with him? Would he even want her to?

A knock sounded at the door, metallic and hallow, startling her out of her trance. She opened it and found Herc standing there holding Max's leash. Max trotted in ahead without waiting for an invitation.

"May we come in?" Herc asked.

Andy stepped back and allowed him into the small room. He'd never been in here before. She closed the door behind him and watched as he scanned her space. She took in her few personal items imagining seeing them through his eyes.

He was wearing kakis and a faded gray T-shirt under a vest. His dog tags hung down his chest. He hadn't pulled out a suit to match his new title. Andy doubted he ever would unless absolutely necessary. His right arm was still in the cloth sling. The medics would have to give him a solid cast soon. He hadn't shaved yet. She wished he'd had some time for himself. She just wanted to hold him, but she wasn't sure where he thought they stood now.

Herc watched while she inspected his appearance. He was physically tired and emotionally drained. Chuck had been a mess, worse than he had expected. But now he was over the worst. And in a strange way, things between them were better.

He also took in the sight of her. He fought down the impulse to reach for her and kiss her. He felt her shying away, holding her breath. She needed something from him, and he was scared he would botch it up.

They stood a few feet apart regarding each other.

"Chuck was pulled in for a briefing," he started. He looked down at Max who was busy smelling his way around the perimeter of Andy's room. "He asked me if I could drop Max off with you for a while. I've got too much to do to keep him with me."

Andy closed her eyes and exhaled with relief.

"Did he really?"

Herc nodded and raised his eyebrows.

She crouched down and scratched behind Max's years. She was startled by Chuck's peace offering. "It's more than I expected."

"He'll be ok," Herc told her. "He's sorting himself out, Andy. He's alive, and he'll be ok. You did well. You did really well!" Herc's eyes held hers and she knew what it meant to him.

"Did I? I thought he'd never speak to me again."

"Well, he's sent you an emissary," Herc said, nodding towards Max.

She stood and stared after said emissary who'd gone exploring again, sniffling and snorting at some dust bunnies in a corner.

"They've decided to continue funding Geiszler's Kaiju work," Herc began again, his voice unsteady. It gave Andy hope that she was not the only one feeling off kilter. She nodded for him to continue. She'd heard this particular rumour already from Tyler. Her work was about to get incrementally more exciting in the next couple of years. She should have been thrilled.

"In view of what we've discovered about the Precursors, I've suggested to them that the Jaeger program not be shut down but downscaled and annexed to Geiszler's work," Herc continued. "As a precaution. The world leaders seem to like precautions," he added wryly.

Andy watched him closely.

"They asked me to oversee the work," he continued, "from L.A.'s Shatterdome, which would be repurposed to suit both your research and the reduced Jaeger program."

"You're not headed back to Sydney?" Andy asked, trying to absorb the significance of what he was saying.

"No."

"You're coming to L.A."

"Yes."

Herc swallowed hard and a frown built between his eyebrows.

"Is our working in close proximity going to be a problem?" he asked softly, half joking, but her silence worried him. He wondered if she was second guessing their closeness from the last week. Perhaps now that the future had changed, she realized that for her it had been a mistake, or an illusion caused by extenuating circumstances. Or maybe after the blow up with Chuck, she's realized she wanted nothing to do with him or his son.

"Andy?" he asked and his voice was shaky. He touched her cheek gently with his knuckles. "Say something."

"Is this what you want?" she asked cautiously.

"Are you kidding? It's all I've been thinking about."

She nodded. "Me too. But today's been so ..."

"Messy?"

"Yeah," she admitted with a smile.

"Messy's not so bad," Herc told her, caressing her cheek. "If I shied away from messy, I would have thrown Chuck out with the bathwater when he was a teenager, and he's one of the best things I ever did with my life."

She chuckled. "Being alone, things are simple, clean, clear-cut," she told him.

"Do you still want me, Andy?" Herc asked.

"Yes," she said, and her eyes told him much more than that.

"Then try this messy business with me."

She let out the breath she'd been holding and smiled. "When you put it like that, how can a girl resist?"

"Come here," he said and pulled her to his chest. She came with a sigh of relief, breathing him in, and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Do I have to address you as Marshal from now on?" she asked. Herc laughed. Just like that, she was back.

"Only in private," he told her, running his hand up her back.

She pulled back to look at him properly.

"You need a shave, Marshal." He rubbed his cheek against hers. She shivered. "And according to Chuck, you need a good coffee," she added teasingly and watched his pupils dilate before he lowered his head and kissed her hard.

"I was hoping you'd have one with me sometime," he told her.

... The End ...

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Thank you for reading. And thank you for leaving me comments! I hope you enjoyed it. This was much fun for me, including the first round of writing, the agonizing over re-writing, posting ... jumping up and down when comments came in! :D**

**A friend asked me half way through if I would do one of those open-to-interpretation endings that are bittersweet, "but memorable", said he. **

**As you can see, my answer was "No way, you grouch! They're getting a satisfyingly happy one."**

**;) perhaps another time**


End file.
